Bleeding On The Sidewalk Essay Writer

There are three narrative elements to the short story, “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding.” The ones that will be discussed are conflict, theme and setting.

“On the Sidewalk Bleeding” has two different kinds of conflict. First, there is a man vs. man conflict. In the beginning of the story, Andy is stabbed by a rival gang called the Guardians who, during the stabbing, say “This is for you, Roya1!” These two gangs stand for different things and hold different territory. Therefore, their confrontation is an example of a man vs. man conflict.

There is also a man vs. himself conflict in the story. This conflict can be seen on several occasions in the story. In the middle of the story, a young couple stumbles upon Andy, who is lying on the sidewalk, about 10 minutes after he was stabbed. The man in the couple walks up to Andy and considers helping him but then he sees his jacket, which is a jacket for the gang, the Royals. The man fights with himself over the issue of whether to help Andy and get him to the hospital. In the end, he decides not to and says to his girlfriend, “I don’t want to get mixed up on this. If we find a cop, the Guardians will find out who.” In this man vs. himself conflict, fear won the battle. It is appalling to me that this man would not help Andy while he is dying in the rain. This man’s fear of being hunted down by a gang is the key moment in the story that led to Andy’s eventual death.

The other man vs. himself conflict is between Andy and himself. As Andy continues to wait for someone to help him, he begins to lose hope. He fights with himself over man issues. He fights with himself over whether or not he will live after being stabbed. He admits to himself that he is losing this battle, when he thinks to himself, “Laura, I’m dying!” This is one of the worst things Andy could have done. When someone accepts that he is dying, that is when he finally starts dying because he has lost confidence. Andy also fights with himself over the decisions he has made in life. It turns out that, as Andy was dying, he began to regret the decision he made to become a Royal. He gives the reader the impression that it was one of the worst decisions he ever made. When he found out he had been accepted by the gang, he was on top of the world. Now, as he lies on the sidewalk, bleeding, he wishes he had never been a part of the Royals in the first place. Andy is also in conflict with himself over his girlfriend, Laura. He is angry at himself that this had to happen because he was going to spend the rest of his life with her in the Bronx. He wonders to himself if Laura will be mad at him for being gone for so long.

The theme of the story “On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” is identity. Andy is angry at everyone for not giving him a chance because of how people identify him. All anyone sees him as is a member of the gang called the Royals. Andy wants to be known as Andy, the man who is going to marry Laura and move to the Bronx. Andy faces prejudice because of his identity at many points in the book. At the beginning of the story, Andy is stabbed by the Guardians. If Andy had been walking around without a Royal jacket, he may not have been killed. Later, in the alley, Andy comes across the young couple who decide not to help him. They don’t help him because of the jacket he is wearing and everything that comes with it. Then, there is the most painful part of the story, when Andy is lying dead and Laura says, “His name is Andy”. The policeman at the scene responds that Andy is just “a royal”, giving the reader the impression that the policeman feels the death is justified because there is gang warfare involved. People often judge each other’s identities based on what they wear. If Andy walked around without that jacket, people would just see another man. Instead, Andy is judged instantly because of this jacket. In the end, this jacket cost him his life.

The third element of the story is setting. The setting of this story takes place on a sidewalk outside an alley, late at night. The setting of the story is very gloomy. It is also raining, which, coupled with the alley, makes the story very spooky. In this story, the setting makes a huge difference to the power of the book. The author tries to create as horrific a setting as possible. The rain is the key to the story. One can imagine Andy, lying on his side with blood spilling out and it being washed away by the rain, creating a murky red puddle. For example, if Andy was lying in a field with no clouds and the sun was shining brightly, the reader might not feel as frightened while reading the story. The gloominess of the setting in the story is connected to the terrible thoughts of dying Andy had going through his head as he lay there.

2 Choosing an essay questionScore out / put a cross beside any that are not suitable.Tick / circle any that are.Decide which question best fits the text and your quotations.

3 Essay questionsPROSEIf it says ‘or’, pick ONE1. Choose a novel or short story in which you feel sympathy or admiration or pity for the main character.Explain how the writer achieves the effect and discuss how it contributes to your appreciation of the text as a whole.2. Choose a novel which is set during a period of social or political change.Discuss how important the writer’s evocation of the period is to your appreciation of the text as a whole.

5 Quote:Quote:Topic 1:Topic 2:Essay question: Choose a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character.Text: ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Topic 3:Topic 4:Quote:Quote:

6 Text: ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Quote:Quote:Topic 1:Andy has been stabbedTopic 2:Nobody helps himEssay question: Choose a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character.Text: ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Topic 3:He does not have a futureTopic 4:He want to be remembered as AndyQuote:Quote:

7 Text: ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Quote: “The knife entered just below his rib cage and had been drawn across his body violently, tearing a wide gap in his flesh.”Quote: “I don't know. I don't know. I don't want to get mixed up in this. He's a Royal.”Topic 1:Andy has been stabbedTopic 2:Nobody helps himEssay question: Choose a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character.Text: ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Topic 3:The weather is against himTopic 4:He does not have a futureQuote: “He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”Quote: “Someday he would marry Laura. Someday he would marry her, and they would have a lot of kids, and then they would get out of the neighbourhood.”

8 Quote:Quote:Topic 1:Topic 2:Essay question: Choose a short story in which you feel admiration for the main character.Text: ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Topic 3:Topic 4:Quote:Quote:

10 Key incidentsStart– Andy has just been stabbed by a member of a rival gang at the start of the storyDrunk doesn’t help Andy– the drunk man thinks Andy is drunk and doesn’t call the copsCouple don’t help Andy – are too scared to help Andy / remind him of LauraTakes off jacket– Andy realises he was stabbed just because he was wearing the jacket and struggles to take it offDies– Andy dies and Laura finds himEnd – the policeman records his death as a gang incident

12 Can you identify the techniques?RepetitionWord choice“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”SymbolismMetaphor

13 Word choice – March is the start of SpringWord choice – March is the start of Spring. The associations of this are of lambs and plants being born/growing. This contrasts with Andy dying too young.Word choice – this is an American word for ‘pavement’. This reminds us that the setting is America. We also know it takes place in March.Repetition – the word ‘drilling’ is repeated, emphasising the force of the rain.“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”Symbolism – the jacket represents the gang he is a member of. At this point he still wearing it but, later, he takes it off as he wants to be a remembered as a person, not just a gang member.Metaphor – the rain is being compared to a drill. Just as a drill easily cuts holes in wood, so too it feels like the rain in making holes in Andy’s flesh. This is violent image that suggests the rain is so hard it is hurting Andy.

14 ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’Writing a critical essay

15 Essay taskChoose a novel or short story in which you feel sympathy or admiration or pity for the main character.Explain how the writer achieves the effect and discuss how it contributes to your appreciation of the text as a whole.

16 Essay taskChoose a novel or short story in which you feel sympathy or admiration or pity for the main character.Explain how the writer achieves the effect and discuss how it contributes to your appreciation of the text as a whole.

17

18 Structure123

19 IntroductionMain bodyConclusion

20 Let’s start by looking at the main body.We’ll come back to the introduction later.

28 Topic sentence This is the sentence that starts every new paragraph.In it you summarise what the paragraph is going to be about.It should have two pieces of information:What the task isWhat the topic of that paragraph is

29 Topic sentencesT +

30 Topic sentence Topic = The weather is against AndyTask = Choose a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character.“One way...”“One event that…”

31 T + TOne way in which sympathy for the character of Andy is created is when the author suggests the weather is hurting Andy.TopicTask

32 Introduce the quote“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”Location in the story?What character(s) are involved?What has just happened at this point?

33 Quote

34 Introduce the quoteNear the start of the story imagery is used to describe the unpleasant weather:“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”

35 Point – should look like this:P (TS) One way in which sympathy for the character of Andy is created is when the author suggests the weather is hurting Andy. (IQ) Near the start of the story imagery is used to describe the unpleasant weather:A colon is used toIntroduce the quotation.

36 Evidence

37 Evidence = This is the quotation you are going to use.PEARThis is the quotation you are going to use.Leave a line before and after the quotation and remember to use quotations marks.

38 One way in which sympathy for the character of Andy is created is when the author suggests the weather is hurting Andy. Near the start of the story imagery is used to describe the unpleasant weather:“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”(Start your analysis here.)

39 Analysis This is where you look at the quotation more closely.Analyse - to examinein detail in order todiscover meaning,essential features, etc.

41 Analysis + evaluationThe word ‘drilling’ is repeated which emphasises how strong the rain was. This is also a metaphor as the rain is being compared to a drill. Just as a drill easily cuts holes in wood, so too it feels like the rain is, effortlessly, making holes in Andy’s flesh. This is a violent image that suggests the rain is so hard it is hurting Andy. In addition, the word ‘March’ is word choice. The connotations of this word are of the start of spring and baby animals being born. This contrasts with what is happening in the story and highlights the fact that Andy is dying too young.

42 Response = Your evaluation will lead you back to the essay questionClearly explain how the quotation you have analysed relates to the essay questionRelate this to the short story’s theme(s)If you haven’t already, address the second part of the questionExplain how the writer achieves the effect and discuss how it contributes to your appreciation of the text as a whole.

43 ResponseThrough his effective use of techniques, Hunter uses the weather to create sympathy for Andy. Not only is he in a large amount of pain because of the stabbing, but the rain is adding to his misery. This contributes to my appreciation of the text as a whole because, if the author did not create sympathy for Andy, then we would not care about his death. It is important that the reader cares about Andy so we can understand the story’s theme, that gang violence is futile.

44 Put it all together and it looks like this:

45 One way in which sympathy for the character of Andy is created is when the author suggests the weather is hurting Andy. Near the start of the story imagery is used to describe the unpleasant weather:“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”The word ‘drilling’ is repeated which emphasises how strong the rain was. This is also a metaphor as the rain is being compared to a drill. Just as a drill easily cuts holes in wood, so too it feels like the rain is making holes in Andy’s flesh. This is a violent image that suggests the rain is so hard it is hurting Andy. In addition, the word ‘March’ is word choice. The connotations of this word are of the start of spring and baby animals being born. This contrasts with what is happening in the story and highlights the fact that Andy is dying too young. Through her effective use of techniques, Duffy creates a vivid and disturbing picture of the concentration camps – from the vast numbers of dead bodies that lie in piles, without an attempt at treating them with dignity, to the mindless cruelty of the Nazi soldiers. It is these techniques that skilfully drive home the poem’s themes and make this a poem that sets out to do more than just entertain. Duffy urges us to remember horrifying events of the past and, more importantly, to learn from these mistakes.PEAR

46 One way in which sympathy for the character of Andy is created is when the author suggests the weather is hurting Andy. Near the start of the story imagery is used to describe the unpleasant weather:“He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body”The word ‘drilling’ is repeated which emphasises how strong the rain was. This is also a metaphor as the rain is being compared to a drill. Just as a drill easily cuts holes in wood, so too it feels like the rain is making holes in Andy’s flesh. This is a violent image that suggests the rain is so hard it is hurting Andy. In addition, the word ‘March’ is word choice. The connotations of this word are of the start of spring and baby animals being born. This contrasts with what is happening in the story and highlights the fact that Andy is dying too young. Through her effective use of techniques, Duffy creates a vivid and disturbing picture of the concentration camps – from the vast numbers of dead bodies that lie in piles, without an attempt at treating them with dignity, to the mindless cruelty of the Nazi soldiers. It is these techniques that skilfully drive home the poem’s themes and make this a poem that sets out to do more than just entertain. Duffy urges us to remember horrifying events of the past and, more importantly, to learn from these mistakes.

47 Introduction

48 Introduction The introduction should not be too long.It should focus on the task right from the start.

49 Identify the text and authorUse words from the essay task to explain what the essay will be about.

50 Use this formula to help you:

51 TATS T – title A - author T – task (this is in the essay question)S – summary (a short summary of the plot)

52 Complete the list below for your essay:T (title)A (author)T (task)Essay title = Choose a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character.

53 Change the task into a statement which includes the author’s name and the title.Write a short summary of what happens in the short story.

54 ExerciseLook at the examples of introductions and highlight the following things (if they are there):T – titleA - authorT – task (this is in the essay question)S – summary (a short summary of the plot)

55 On the Sidewalk Bleeding is a really boring story about a boy called Andy who stabs a drunk man. The short story was written by Evan Hunter and not much really happens in it apart from Andy kicks the bucket and his girlfriend starts bawling greeting. Then it ends. TATS? Strengths? Weaknesses?

56 ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’ is a poem which takes place in a part of New York where rival gangs are at war. Sympathy is created for the main character, Andy. In many ways. In this essay I will discuss how the author creates sympathy. And look at the techniques. He uses. TATS? Strengths? Weaknesses?

57 ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’ by Evan Hunter is a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character. The main character is Andy and he is stabbed in an alley at the start of the story because he is in gang. Different characters enter the alley but nobody helps him. With the last of his strength he takes off his jacket as it is a symbol of the gang he joined. At the end, his girlfriend finds him and a cop records his death. TATS? Strengths? Weaknesses?

58 Your turn Remember to include: T = ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’A = Evan HunterT = Choose a short story in which you feel sympathy for the main character.S = Short plot summary

59 Peer assess introductionsSwap and peer assess the introductions you have written.Copy this table and tick the boxes if you can identify them in the introduction.Write a comment underneath which says:One thing they did wellOne thing they should work on to improve next timeT - titleA - authorT - taskS - summary